What’s the Skinny on the Keto Diet?

Uptick is a periodic feature that investigates fads, follies and fetishes new and old that are spurring conversation.

The hype: Who would have guessed that a high-fat diet that encourages you to double-down on veal shanks and blue cheese would kick up much of a fuss? Kidding! With a nudge from Hollywood and Silicon Valley influencers, the explosively popular ketogenic diet (better known as keto) is the latest low-carb regimen (see Atkins, Paleo, South Beach) to promise a beach-worthy physique with a side order of bacon.

Up or down: Trending up, way up.

Elevator pitch: Think of it as streamlined Atkins. That low-carb diet, developed by Dr. Robert Atkins in the 1970s, urged followers to gorge on steak and eggs until they achieved ketosis: a state in which the body theoretically burns fat for energy.

Adopters: Funny how a Midwest-friendly diet that preaches meat, meat and more meat has caught on with particular vigor on the vegan-friendly West Coast (sure, there’s vegan keto, but you better have a near-religious attachment to tofu and avocados).

A boost from the A-listers helped turn it into a multi-billion-dollar industry. So did Instagram hashtags like #myketotransformation, where dieters post before-and-after selfies of their ripped bodies. This month, Al Roker announced on the “Today” show that had lost 40 pounds on the diet. “It doesn’t suck,” he said proudly during a keto cooking segment in whichhe served sloppy Joes with wheat-free buns made of almond powder, psyllium husk and egg whites.